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Improving Posture: Exercises to Correct Excessive Low Back Curve
Improve Your Posture: How to Correct an Excessive Lower Back Curve
Are you aiming to improve your posture? Correcting an exaggerated curve in your lower back is achievable with targeted exercises.
Experiencing lower back pain? This discomfort often stems from an abnormal arch in your spine, known as a larger-than-normal lordotic curve.
This guide unveils essential exercises designed to rectify an increased curve in your lower back posture. After mastering the foundational routines, you’ll find advanced exercises to further enhance your posture.
See Also: Advanced Posture Exercises For Your Rounde Upper Back
Understanding Posture: Addressing Hyperlordosis
The natural curves in your lower back and neck, known as lordosis, play a crucial role in your overall posture. Normal lordosis is common and healthy.
However, the internet is rife with misinformation regarding posture correction. As a practising chiropractor, my goal is to provide you with accurate and reliable information to navigate posture improvements effectively.
Excessive curvature, or hyperlordosis, refers to an overpronounced curve in the lower back. “Hyper” indicates an excess, much like the term “hyperactive.” Conversely, “hypo” denotes a deficiency, indicating less curvature than normal.
It’s possible to exhibit hyperlordotic posture without experiencing pain. Nevertheless, addressing this condition early is vital to reduce the risk of developing osteoarthritis in the joints and discs of your lower spine.
See Also: 4 Upper Back Exercises To Improve Posture
Correcting Hyperlordosis: Enhancing Appearance and Reducing Risk
Proactively adjusting a hyperlordotic posture not only mitigates health risks but can also refine your silhouette. Through specific exercises, we can realign your pelvis, diminishing the appearance of lordosis without altering your body’s natural shape.
Causes of Hyperlordosis Include:
Tight Muscles:
- Erector spinae muscles along the spine.
- The hip flexor muscle is known as the psoas.
Weak Muscles:
- The gluteus maximus shapes your buttocks.
- Abdominal muscles, particularly the rectus abdominis or “six-pack” muscles, remain concealed for many under a layer of fat.
Hyperlordosis results from an imbalance between overly tight muscles pulling in one direction and weak muscles failing to compensate, exacerbating the spinal curve.
Correcting Your Posture: Balancing Muscle Strength
To amend your posture, begin by stretching the tight muscles before strengthening the weaker ones. This balanced approach is key to correcting an excessive lower back curve and improving your overall posture.
A: Arch Your Lower Back Like The Cat Pose in Yoga – Stretch your low back erector spinae (low back muscles).
- Get on all fours with your hands under your shoulders, your knees under your hips.
- Arch your upper back and lower back like a cat does when it’s scared.
- Hold for 30 seconds – do 3 sets.
- If you have a disc problem, or it hurts to arch and flex your back, this exercise is not for you.
A: Child Pose: Second stretch for your low back erector spinae (low back muscles).
- Get on your hands and knees.
- Sit back onto your heels with your arms reaching out as far as they will go.
- Your head is looking down – neck down.
- Hold for 30 seconds – do 3 sets.
A: Lunge Pose: You need to stretch the hip flexor muscles (psoas muscles)
- Get down on your knees.
- Put one leg forward with the knee bent to 90 degrees.
- The other leg is back with the knee very slightly bent resting on the floor.
- You should feel the stretch in the front part of your hip.
- Hold for 30 seconds and do 3 sets.
Second, strengthen your gluteus maximus (your butt-shaping muscle) and abs (your rectus abdominis muscles or six-pack muscles)
I will give you two exercises to strengthen your gluteus maximus. The squat and the single-leg squat.
B: The Chair Squat To Strengthen Your Gluteus Maximus
- Stand with your back to the chair.
- Your feet should be shoulder width apart with your feet turned out slightly
- Make sure to not arch your lower back when lowering yourself down to the chair.
- Touch the chair and come right back up 10 – do 3 sets.
B: Single Leg Squat To Improve Your Posture. When you can do three sets of chair squats easily, try single-leg squats.
- Always stand near a wall so, you can support yourself if you lose your balance.
- Stand on one leg.
- Stick out your butt as much as you can while bringing your other leg back, dragging it on the floor to keep balance.
- Go as far as you can with the back leg.
- Don’t let your knee go forward past the big toe
- Do 3 sets of 10.
Strengthen Your Abs To Help Your Posture
B: Front Planks strengthen your abs without putting dangerous pressure on your discs like crunches and sit-ups do.
- Lie face down.
- Toes together and your arms shoulder width apart.
- Hold this position without raising your butt too high
- Your body should form a straight line. Look in the mirror.
- Hold for up to 1 minute at a time. – do the exercise 3 times.
B: Advanced Abs Strengthening To Help Your Posture
- Get a basketball or medicine ball.
- Get in the front plank position.
- Balance with your forearms on your medicine ball/basketball.
- Pull your arms in toward you while balancing on the ball.
Feel free to share your questions, thoughts and experiences in the comments below, and don’t forget to connect with us on Facebook for more updates and tips on improving your shoulder health. We’d love to hear your opinions on who you consider the best Toronto chiropractor.
Dr. Ken, has been recognized as the Best Toronto Chiropractor in 2024, 2023, and 2018, here in downtown Toronto. As a sports chiropractor, he excels in treating a wide range of conditions including concussions, temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ), sports-related injuries, and spinal issues. Beyond his clinical skills, Dr. Ken is an accomplished athlete, having represented Ontario in the Canadian Judo Championships and completed the Toronto Marathon on two occasions. He employs the innovative C3 Program to provide targeted and effective care to his patients, ensuring a holistic approach to their well-being and athletic performance.
Hi. I’ve been doing these exercises/stretches for 6 weeks but when I do the hip flexor stretch, it just feels like I’m straining my hip joint and that’s it, is that what it’s supposed to feel like? I don’t want to do any damage. When I pull my back shin up during the stretch, I feel the stretch more in the front of my quad, is that where I’m really supposed to feel the stretch?
Author
Thanks for your question Ladythea. You are supposed to feel it at the crease where your thigh starts and a little higher up. Try bending your knee or lifting the arm on the side you are stretching than leaning on toward the opposite side. Here is a picture. http://www.dancespirit.com/2012/07/the-7-best-moves-for-your-dancer-bod/
Go to picture #14 in the link.
Hope that helps your posture.
I have heard claims that fixing lordosis through such exercises leads to an increase in height (or more accurately, revealing one’s true height by straightening the spine). Is this true?
Thanks.
Author
Thanks for your question Vlah. Yes it’s true by having a more curved lordosis in the lower back but anywhere in the body will make you shorter. Correcting this will make you taller. Keep in mind the goal is not to have a completely straight spine, when someone is looking at you from the side. The goal should be to attain the natural curves that the body needs for a healthy spine. Don’t put your height ahead of a healthy spine.
Hope that helps your posture.
Hi Doctor Ken
My name is nur hanisah from malaysia.
I just read some of your articles at bodi empowerment. for your information , I was diagnosed for prolapsed intervertebral disc (PID) and have been through to RF Procedure.I just want to know the best exercise routine for me to do in order to minimize the pain. I am working mom for my 1 year 6 months baby.
I feel pain when I breastfeed my baby because it took more than 10 minutes at certain position. I really hope that you can advice me on the above matter. Thank you so much Dr Ken
Author
Thanks for your question Hanisah. RF as any procedure is not perferct. The vast majority of the time you should do conservative therapy before doing any type of treatment. Try these exercises.
https://www.bodiempowerment.com/herniated-disc-part-2-the-best-exercises-for-your-herniated-disc/
If they cause increased pain or increased any symptoms like tinging or numbness further down like in your buttock or leg than you should stop the exercises. Remember any exercises can make you worse.
Hope that helps your disc herniation. This is for educational purposes only.
Hi, Dr. Nakamura —
I am a personal trainer with a new client who complains of intermittent lower back pain due to hyperlordosis. I just came upon your site when searching for exercises to help him. I am also a 500 hour trained yoga teacher, so am thrilled to see you recommend some good yoga stretches to help him. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Author
Thanks for your comment Stephanie. Wish you were here in downtown Toronto so I could work with you Stephanie. Glad you found the site helpful.
Hi Dr. Ken!
Thank you so much. My back Back is severely arched and I hope these exercises will help. I can’t wait to see results. The hardest part for m Will being consistent an patient. I am finding it hard to do chair squats without arching my back. Also I don’t understand how to do the one leg squats. Any advice?
Author
Thanks for your question Yair. Just bend forward more when doing the chair squats. As for doing the one leg squats I don’t know if it’s a co-ordination, or stability problem you have with the one leg squats so I can’t help you.
Hope that helps your exaggerated arch in your lower back.
Hi Dr Ken,
I’ve been struggling to find a site that really offers decent information on correcting spinal issues so it was refreshing to read your article. I’m only 24 years old but I’ve had consistent lower back pain when attempting to stand straight. I work as a surgical technician so I often stand 8+ hours a day, but the pain starts within the first hour And is most relieved from bending forward. I was never the most active kid in the world but I’ve never been overweight either. But I’ve always noticed that my lower back seems to arch in much more than most other people. I’m wondering if hyperlordosis is a reasonable conclusion, and what extra steps out exercises I could take or do on top of the ones you’ve listed in order to help the process and see greater results.
Thank you!
Author
Thanks for the question Tony. Hyperlordosis is possible but it could also be many things including an anterior disc bulge, if you have hyperlordosis. Just try the exercises in this article and you should get results.
Hope that helps your posture.
Thanks dr.ken for the pep up.will be up with the exercise as u have told. ..its extremely nice of you to have responded to the queries So early. You know what you do doctor.keep up the good work.
Author
You are welcome Dr. Karan
Dr. Ken
First off thank you so much for taking the time to answer the questions presented here. I am a +35 year old ex dancer with hyperlordosis. I didn’t know about this until a few years ago so I have many years of bad posture/habits to overcome. I have a four part question if you would be so kind: 1. I am committed to do the exercises that you described but I also wanted to practice straightening my back during normal activities (walking, etc) to increase the effectiveness. I notice however when I do that it becomes extremely difficult to walk and basically impossible to run. I’m assuming this is because of the lack of flexibility in my hip and will get better with exercise, correct? (2) I noticed that you responded to one of the commenters that sleeping on your stomach makes the lordosis worse. I sleep on my stomach (sometimes unconsciously I roll over in my sleep) and do at times notice a lot of pain when I wake up in the morning. Problem is, when I go to bed at night there are times when sleeping on my back also causes pain (when I’m trying to sleep vs when I wake up). I’ve tried moving to a fetal position and using pillows but in these moments nothing seems to work other than trying to falls asleep with my legs raised and bent towards my chest (which feels a little ridiculous). This may be outside of your expertise but do you have any suggestions that I can do in these situations? Should I just endure the discomfort of sleeping on my back in order to correct my posture down the road? (3) I heard some murmurings but have not found anything concrete online: Is lordosis linked to incontinence? And will the exercises help this as well? LAST ONE! (4) I’ve seen things about posture braces. Do you recommend these? Thank you VERY much in advance!!!
Author
Thanks for your question Lisa.
1. As you gain flexibility and endurance in the muscles you will be able to hold the posture while walking and eventually with running. It can take many months and even more than a year for those with severe hyperlordosis. Most dancers have hyperlordosis.
2. Sleeping on your back or your front will cause pain with people that have more advanced hyperlordosis. You should try sleeping on your side. Probably tough to do as you move around when you sleep but try to be more aware.
3. Haven’t heard of any correlation.
4. I wouldn’t use a posture brace as this will make your muscles weaker and make your posture worse when you are not wearing the brace. You will be worse off in the long run.
Hope that helps your posture.
Ok! Thank you very much!
Author
You are welcome Lisa.
Hi Dr.Ken
I was just passing around searches for rx of hyperlordosis and bang I got through your article on the website. I have read through the article and all the queries and comments.I have after all reached to a place of solution I suppose. Giving brief history of me.a doctor myself sedentary hectic life no time for exercise just eat work sleep. Have gained weight approx wt is 90kg with height 5’10”.abdominal fat central and peripheral.looks like the centre of gravity is abdomen.And a huge curve of the lumbar. Posture looks like a saxophone. Horrible feeling and to top it the behind sticks out prominently, not good for me.
I hope you allow me to proceed with these exercises that you have recommended and they at this age help me get back into shape.
Previous injury to L4-5 S1-2 due to fall playing football. Have stopped sports since 13yrs.some times there is pain bareable though.would appreciate your comment and advice. Thank you.
I am 30 yrs currently
Author
Thanks for your comment Dr. Karan. Sound like you are changing your priorities or wanting to change your priorities from just work to work and taking care of your health. Sound like you need to eat better and do aerobic exercise in addition the exercises in the article. Since you are only 30 years old you may even prevent some more serious disease with regular exercises.
A goal of being the role model for your patients would be a great idea.
The exercises in this article should help you in addition to the aerobic exercises.
Hope that helps your posture.
Hi. I have hyperlordosis and I have tight lower back muscles(running parallel to the spine). I also play football or at least I Did before I became injured. I’ve been injured for roughly six months now. My physiotherapist says that I have loose ligaments, which cause my bottom two vertebrae to be needed less, say when touching the toes or bending my back. As a result my, according to my physio my brain automatically sent my back muscles a signal to tighten up to counteract the loose ligaments. As a result im left with tight ligaments over my bottom two vertebrae which in turn pinch a nerve just above my left buttock. This leaves me in crippling pain and I have not been able to run at all in this 6 month period.
I am asking how would I go about fixing this problem as you seem to be very knowledgeable and have helped lots of people here so far.
Thank you very much for your time.
Author
Thanks for your question Simon. While the physio and I disagree on the reason behind the hyperlordosis and the pain the results are still the same. Pain in your lower back. You should give any health practitioner one to two months to get you better. If they haven’t then you should move on. (provided you do the exercises and you attended regularly)
The hyperlordosis may or may not be causing you pain. If it is these exercises should help. If your lower back pain is due to some other cause then it will not likely help.
Hope that helps your lower back pain and posture.
It’s just a miracle.Earlier all the time I used to think about my posture only,It was really embarrassing. But after going through these exercises, I myself feeling a great improvement in my low back posture.presently doing initial three exercises (cow, baby,lunge) n feeling a very slight amount of pain in my lower back. Definitely it will improve alot my sex life also because initially there was more pain in my lower back but now feeling better than before.
You are a god to me doctor.My well wishes are with you n your family.
Author
Thanks for your compliments Rohit. I am here to help. Great to hear the sex life has improved.
Have a great day.
Thank you Dr KEN for the article and for these informations.
I would like to ask you about my situation if possible,thanks in advance.
I am 24 years old, 6.2 foot, i have 8% fat my body, i practice every day for 2 hours and though i have this problem:
I hit the gym since 4 years, but yesterday, when i finished my workout, i took off my shirt and looked at the mirror just to see my back muscles, that is when i realized that my lower back is arched,i knew there is something wrong.i woke up today and i found you article, it explains a lot my situation.
During these 5 years, every time i try to do abs or crunches i feel pain in my lower back, i can’t make it to 10 with crunches, it really hurts and my breathing became difficult because my back pain, and when i do planks i cant keep my body straight as you show in the photo.
Are these two subjects related?(lower back pain and my arched back)
Is hyperlordosis my case? hope it is so i can fix it, i visited many doctors, all what they said is because i am tall(6.2 foot=190 cm), and i know this is wrong. if it is, should i practice these exercises everyday?
Thank you Dr i appreciate your time.
regards!
Author
Thanks for your question Chris. The lower back pain and arched back are often associated or related. Your doctor probably doesn’t understand. Many people that are tall don’t have hyperlordosis. That is not the cause of hyperlordosis. It is the weakness in certain key muscle groups which I go over in the article.
If you are having trouble with planks the normal way. Try starting the plank on your knees. You have likely created a severe imbalance in your body with your workouts.
Your back pain can also be related to doing too many crunches / sit-ups during your workouts earlier on. This can damage the disc and cause bulging and pain. Never do cruches or sit-ups they will get your lower back in trouble ie pain.
Hope that helps your exaggerate lower back arch and your lower back pain.
do i have a chance to be better and get a healthy back and spine with this severe imbalance?
thank you Dr.
Author
Thanks for your question Chris. Have no fear. If you do the exercises you will be on your way to getting better.
Hope that helps your posture.
A Great article! Will certainly Terry this. But… Can fixing my lordosis make me taller? Thanks for Answering myself question. It would make Sense. Think about making a curved line straight. You get a longer length!
Author
Thanks for your question Manuel. Yes your are right you can get taller. Maybe 2 cm if you are lucky
Hope the article helps your posture.
H,i am 19 years old,i am doing these exercises since 1 and half month and i feel like my lower back is improving. These are amazing exercises .i just wanted to know if there are any precautions to be taken so that my lower back may not get that exagerrated arch back again in future. Thank you doctor .
Author
Thanks for your question Razor. When doing the lunge it is a balance between not arching your back and still getting a stretch in your hip flexors. To keep the arch the way improved, it is recommended that you keep doing the exercises three days a week or more. Sometimes an everyday habit is easier to do then doing something three days a week.
Hope that helps your posture.
You say to do this every day but I thought it was bad to work out every day. Also, if women are supposed to have more of a curved spine than men, does that mean that the test for hyperlordosis (when you stand with your back against the wall) should be different for women?
Author
Thanks for the question Tina. Working out every is fine from my point of view. First if you look at the exercises they are all stretches except for two of them. You should do stretches everyday if you want to progress. There are two exercises that are not stretches but I have not had senior patients that could not do them everyday or found them to taxing. Most find they make good progress by doing them everyday. If you don’t do them everyday you will not progress.
You are right that men and women have different lumbar lordosis with women usually having more of a curve. As for the angle between men and women I haven’t been able to find any research that gives separate angles for men and women. I will make changes to the article once I find out the actual angles. Thank you for pointing this out.
Nervertheless you are reading this article as you feel you have hyperlordosis. You basically want to see where your baseline is (how curved your lumbar spine is now) then try to improve upon this by doing the exercises everyday consistently over the long term. eg. If you can fit your four fingers behind your back then try to get to three. The point is to make improvements.
Hope that helps your posture.
Dr.ken I’m 16 years old and want to fix my exaggerated arc in lower back…if I could do these exercise daily two times or one time..and how much time this will take???
Please suggest …..!
Author
Thanks for your question John. It would probably speed things up but I couldn’t tell you by how much. Most people start off strong then they stop. Most of is determined by how well or accurately you are doing the exercise and how persistent you are.
Hope that helps.
Thank you very much for your reply! Given that I am bit skeptical now but I will do these exercises and I will use also the rowing machine for general strenghtening of the back muscles for at least six months. Afterwards I will let you know if my posture will improve or not. Kind Regards!
Author
Good luck Nicoleta.
Thank you very much for your answer Dr. Ken!I mean that my scoliosis is more recently and not soo bad as the arch in the lower back. Do you consider that rowing machine is also very efficient in my case?! Starting with this month i have a subscripton to the gym and I understand that i should avoid many exercises in order not to increase my arch in the lower back! Many thanks
Author
Thanks for your question. The rowing machine is good for cardio and for general strengthening of the back but is not specific for posture or scoliosis.
Hope that helps your posture Nicoleta.
Hello Dr. Ken! I am 30 years old and I have an exaggerated arch in the lower back along with scoliosis. I have had problems with my posture since my childhood and I’ am wondering if it is too late to correct this. I am looking very fit (1.69 cm, 49 kg) and my back muscles are very weak. Do you think that doing these exercises and working on a rowing machine at the gym about 30 minutes daily will help me get rid of these problems? How long would it take to correct my bad posture?
Best Regards,
Nicoleta
Author
Thanks for your question Nicoleta. It is definitely going to take a lot longer to help your problem. The scoliosis will remain but the arch in your lower back may improve. There is no guarantees as there is in life. I cannot tell you how long it would take as your problem is complex.
Hope the exercises help your posture and scoliosis.
My dear, really thanks for this virtues. actually all the human being should support to each other like you. i am suffering the pain of lumbar loardsis. so now will practice this to eliminate the pain.
dear Doctor, can i start both A and B in same time.
my doctor reports were like this.
* Loss of lumbar lordsis.
* L5 -S1 are significantly scarelized.
Author
Thanks for your question Mohammed. I think you mean that your L5-S1 are significantly sacralized. This means that your last vertebrae in your spine has mostly fused to the pelvic bone. This can be due to different types of arthritis or you could have been born with this. It’s actually not that uncommon.
To answer your question yes you can start both A and B at the same time. Just don’t do the medicine ball exercises at the beginning as that is an advanced exercise and you can get hurt.
Hope that helps your posture.